Line Agencies Research Articles

Redressing inequities of the past from a historical perspective: The case of the Olifants basin, South Africa

This paper analyses the continuities and changes in water management in the Olifants basin after the first decade of implementation of the National Water Act (1998). By taking a historical perspective of the basin development trajectory, the paper shows how the White minority rulers, who exerted power until 1994, systematically denied historically disadvantaged individuals (HDIs) the right to become significant water users, let alone 'economically viable' water users. In contrast, White water users undertook major water resource development, which, by the 1970s resulted in the emergence of a 'White water economy'. Under the new dispensation (post-1994), the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) took a two-pronged approach in the Olifants basin and elsewhere for redressing the inequities of the past. On the one hand, from the central top down, it opened up the 'White water economy' into a water economy serving especially 'economically viable water users', who rapidly ceased to be White only. As reflected in a range of new measures taken in the Olifants basin, in this new water economy DWAF better targets bulk domestic supplies to HDIs, has more public participation, and is strengthening its regulatory role in terms of cost-recovery, environmental issues, and pollution prevention. On the other hand DWAF seeks to fill the enormous backlog in water services delivery to HDIs, not only for domestic water uses, but increasingly also for productive uses. The major challenge of bottom-up coordinated service delivery for multiple uses through the newly established Provincial and Local Governments and the transforming line agencies is addressed under the recently launched Water for Growth and Development Initiative.

Flash flood susceptibility modeling using geo-morphometric and hydrological approaches in Panjkora Basin, Eastern Hindu Kush, Pakistan

This main objective of this study is flash flood susceptibility modeling using geo-morphometric and hydrological approaches in Panjkora Basin, Eastern Hindu Kush, Pakistan. In the study region, flash flood is one of the horrific and recurrent hydro-meteorological disasters causing damages to human life, their properties, and infrastructure. Watershed modeling approach is implemented to delineate Panjkora Basin, its sub-basins, and extract drainage network by utilizing Advance Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model as an input data in geographic information system environment. A total of 30 sub-basins were delineated using threshold of 25 km2. The geo-morphometric parameters of each sub-basin were computed by applying Hortonian, Schumm, and Strahler Geo-morphological laws. The value of each parameter was normalized and aggregated into geo-morphometric ranking number depicting the degree of flash flood susceptibility. Surface run-off depth of each sub-basin is estimated by applying Natural Resource Conservation Service Curve Number hydrological model. Both models outputs were integrated by implementing weighted overlay analysis technique and susceptibility map is obtained. The resultant map was analyzed and zonated into very high, high, moderate, low, and very low flash flood susceptibility zones. These zones were spread over an area of 1441 km2 (27%), 1950 km2 (36.5%), 1252 km2 (23.4%), 604 km2 (11.3%), and 98 km2 (1.8%), respectively. Spatially, the very high susceptible zone is located in the upstream areas, characterized by snow covered peaks, steep gradient (> 30°), and high drainage density (> 1.7 km/km2), and geologically dominated by igneous and metamorphic lithological units. Analysis indicated that flash flood susceptibility is directly increases with increasing surface run-off and geo-morphometric ranking number. A new model is developed to geo-visualize the spatial pattern of flash flood susceptibility. Accuracy of the model is assessed using global positioning system-based primary data regarding past-flood damages and flood marks. The study results can facilitate Disaster Management Authorities and flood dealing line agencies to initiate location-specific flood-risk reduction strategies in highly susceptible areas of Panjkora Basin. Similarly, this methodological approach can be adapted for any highland river system.

Assessment of present status and action plan development of vegetable seed enterprise in Rukum, Nepal

Vegetable seed enterprise is a highly potential sub-sector for the economic growth of rural farmers in Nepal. Rukum has been known as the most important district for vegetable seed production since long time because of favorable agro-climatic condition. However, Rukums' sub-sector is facing several limitations including organized production and marketing, technology adoption and entrepreneurship development. This study has been carried out to assess the vegetable seed sub-sector of Rukum and propose action plans accordingly for the sustainable seed enterprise development. The study conducted stakeholder workshop and field survey; consulted district line agencies, seed producers and cooperatives, agro-vets and seed companies, and reviewed previous works. The study found that there were many individual farmers, farmers' groups and cooperatives being involved in vegetable seed production in the district. The role of private sector is emerging rapidly with higher share in the seed marketing. The public sector is still a major player for conducting research; and provision of source seeds, quality assurance and other support services. Strategic efforts and action plans are needed to push the existing traditional seed sub-sector towards commercial venture. Technology adoption for quality seed production, processing and marketing; transformation of the classical seed sub-sector into a competitive and sustainable enterprise; organized and demand led seed production programs; and coordination and participatory approaches among stakeholders in seed value chain activities are highly recommended.

Institutionalizing postpartum family planning and postpartum intrauterine device services in Nepal: Role of training and mentorship.

To explore the perceptions of key stakeholders on different modalities of training and mentoring activities for healthcare providers of postpartum family planning and postpartum intrauterine devices (PPFP/PPIUD). In this qualitative study, data were collected from 40 participants in December 2017 via focus group discussions (FGD) and in-depth interviews (IDI) in three hospitals implementing PPFP/PPIUD services and government line agencies in Nepal. Data were analyzed through content analysis and grouped into themes and categories. The majority of participants reported that PPFP/PPIUD training and mentoring was useful and contributed to their professional development. Most found that on-the-job training (OJT) was more effective than group-based training (GBT). Training and mentoring activities were perceived to be useful by health providers and OJT was the approach preferred by the majority. Further studies are necessary to explore the existing challenges and long-term effects of each modality of training and mentoring on health providers' competency and attitudes and on the uptake of PPIUD by postpartum mothers.

Devastating Monsoon: Water Induced Disaster Management Practices in Nepal

Nepal is prone to a variety of recurring natural disasters such as floods, landslides, snow avalanches, thunderstorms, drought, earth quake and epidemics. In particular, floods, landslides, hailstorms and drought are almost regular phenomena. This paper has focused mainly on water induced disaster (Monsoon) prepared through review of documents, consultation with related line agencies and field level interaction with affected communities. The paper also seeks to explore and document the major disasters and their impacts in Nepal. It discusses policy and program, institutional arrangement and activities related to the disaster management as well as identification of gaps in the policy and program. Nepal has attempted to manage the prevalence of these hazards and their associated disasters through both informal civic involvement and formal government instruments. A legal and policy environment to deal with disasters has existed in one or the other form in Nepal since 1982, and these have been reviewed. Study showed that disaster management activities only found initial response rather post disaster program. However, findings of the previous and present programs and activities on disaster management have not addressed effectively to the vulnerable people and to reduce the impact from disasters at the local level. It is suggested that disaster management policy and program should be integrated and mainstreamed in development agenda.

Livelihood Resources, Practices and Values of Aetas in Mid-Baytan—Implications to Education and Community Development

.

Socio-Cultural, Ecological and Legal Perspectives on Small Tank Management in a Selected Cascade System in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Water tanks are complex human-made ecosystems involving many natural resources and providing a wide variety of functions. Many stakeholders actively use these resources and functions. The different ecological, social, and economic elements of the ecosystem are closely related and dependent on the existence of the water tank. The central presence of the tank gives the essential structure to the territory. This is emanated very clearly in the cascade tank systems which are abundant in the North Central Province of the country. Due to many factors including industrialization of agriculture and tanks connected with the central irrigation systems such as Mahaweli, and tanks being managed predominantly by the Government, the involvement of the village communities in tank management to ensure its full ecosystem services has become very less. This aggravated by other disturbances such as war had led to the deterioration of the cascade systems. The present study was undertaken to assess the influences of socio-economic and cultural perspectives on the conservation of the tank cascade system to provide its full potential of ecosystem services. It also evaluated the ecological and legal aspects either in place or desired towards the conservation of the same. Four tanks situated in a cascade setting in Kahatagasdigiliya Divisional Secretariat Division in Anuradhapura District in the North Central Province were selected for the study. They were Bambarahela wewa, Kumbuk wewa, Diwul wewa and Hettu wewa. The villages to which these tanks belong to are Bambarahela, Diwulwewa and Hettuwewa. Mix methods including both qualitative and quantitative data collection were used in gathering data. This was supplemented with secondary data collected from relevant sources. A close-ended questionnaire was administered in a household survey in the villages to obtain information on their dependence on tanks, and socio-economic and cultural influences on their perceptions of the ecosystem services and conservation of the tanks. This was supplemented with key informant interviews with relevant personnel including village headman (Grama Niladhari), school principals, leaders of farmer organizations, officials of relevant line agencies and the Department of Agrarian Services who has the jurisdiction to administer small tanks. From the results of the survey it was revealed that almost all the villagers had been using the tanks for more than 50 years for diverse purposes including agriculture (paddy and other cultivations), bathing, washing etc. but at present they do not use the water for drinking as they think it is polluted. The dependence on tanks does not vary significantly with their educational level or socio economic status and almost all are aware of the ecosystem services provided by the tanks. Their religion and culture had influenced their perceptions on tank conservation. However, none of them was willing to pay money to conserve the ecosystem as they were of the view that the existing management mechanism is adequate. The requirement to have buffer zones around tanks according to law, has not been adhered to. As this is rather a remote area the upper catchment of the tank cascade system is conserved. Keywords: Tank cascade, Ecosystem services, Conservation

Challenges for reconstruction after Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake: a study on a devastated area of Nepal

The Gorkha earthquake on April 25, 2015 had significantly affected the livelihood of people and the overall economy in Nepal. The earthquake had caused damage to about half a million private and public buildings, apart from damage to other infrastructures including schools, hospitals, roads, hydropower, irrigation canals, etc. The earthquake had affected the lives of 8 million people. With significant numbers of actors and stakeholders involved in the reconstruction process, no significant relief has reached the ground or is observable even after 3 years of the disaster. The government has formed National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) as the focal authority for the reconstruction process which is leading the reconstruction process with line agencies and other stakeholders. The longitudinal study was carried out through semi-structured interviews with the engineers working under NRA, local people and social mobilizer, group discussions, and field observation from June 2015 to August 2016 focusing on challenges for timely and quality reconstruction. The research also reviews the experiences from past events in similar social and political condition. This study concludes that the situation was the result of larger institutional gaps as the absence of local government, lack of coordination, bureaucratic hurdles and political transition, weak governance and cross-cutting issues as accessibility, manpower shortage, knowledge gap and other socio-cultural aspects. Authors supplement that the good governance and strategic incorporation of social and cultural aspects of reconstructions along with the technical cross-cutting issues like skilled labour, resources availability and construction knowledge could help to expedite the reconstruction process.

Investigation of efficiency and effectiveness of the existing disaster management frameworks in Sri Lanka

In the recent past Sri Lanka has experienced several significant natural disasters. Above all others, the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 had a devastating effect on more than one million people. With the aim of effectively managing all phases of a disaster and to enhance the resilience of the community, the Disaster Management Act was passed in 2005 to provide necessary immediate legal provisions, and was later revised into a national policy. Furthermore, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) was also established. At present, the DMC and all the line agencies focus on disaster management functions under the ministry of disaster management. The comprehensive disaster management program was prepared in 2014 and it is to be used up until 2018. Furthermore, it was proposed to identify mechanisms to integrate the Sendai Framework into the Sri Lankan national disaster management framework. However, during recent disasters, the DMC and the disaster management framework was under severe criticism from the public as well as the technical community. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of the existing disaster management framework in Sri Lanka in managing all phases of a disaster. Since the main governing policy for the DM and Disaster Risk Reduction in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lanka National Disaster Management Policy (SLNDMP), it was investigated whether the policy is applied effectively and efficiently. In addition, alignment with comprehensive global frameworks like the Sendai Principles was checked in parallel to identify its alignment with global standards. SLNDMP was evaluated against seven criteria, which were identified after carefully analyzing the requirements of the Sendai Framework. Applications of the SLNDMP was evaluated with respect to three disaster incidents which occurred recently; the collapse of the garbage dump in Meethotamulla on April 2017, the Colombo floods and the Aranayake landslide during May 2016. In addition, some of the 37 points indicated in the SLNDMP were also considered in this study. Finally, recommendations were provided for improvements to the policy.

Integrated Water Resources Conservation Management for a Sustainable Food Security

Many of Indonesia’s watersheds are reaching a critical stage. As a result of higher rates of erosion and sedimentation, the number of critical watersheds in Indonesia has increased from 22 in 1984 to 58 in 2000 and in 2014 this number has reached 108. This result in food security is being threatened because there is insufficient water available for agriculture purposes due to catchment degradation, especially in the upper parts of the watersheds. At the same time, Indonesia’s new government focused its national development programs on food security for the next five years. For these reasons Indonesia’s National Development Planning Agency believes that it is timely to develop a national policy on Integrated Water Conservation Management (IWCM). To provide the rationale and suggested content for such a national policy, this paper has been prepared based onfocused group discussions with relevant interests at the national and regional levels. To obtain specific input from regional stakeholders, workshops were held in Medan, Yogyakarta, Banjarmasin, Nusa Tenggara Barat and Makassar as well as line agencies based in the state capital of Jakarta from October 2014 to March 2015. At the landscape level, the formulation of national policy on IWCM was based on integrated watershed management analysis as water resources within a specific watershed are integrated into other resources within an ecosystem. This action research recommends the following: a) integrating the IWCM into the regular regional development activities, b) encouraging local agreements on water resource conservation including local adat communities, c) formulating attractive economic incentives in implementing IWCM programs, d) using corporate social responsibility and payment for environment services funding to boost water resource conservation program at village level, and e) involving actively women in the IWCM programs. Considering that socio-cultural aspects are also playing an important role in the IWCM, a national-level of institutional arrangement on IWCM will also be proposed. Keywords: IWCM; food security; green and blue water; watershed; institutional arrangement; Indonesia

Elitism: normative ethics of local organisation in community-based natural resources management

Purpose Local organisations have been established on participatory approach whose central purpose is to establish development activities bringing about positive change as four pillars of developments: to establish decentralised robust local organisation for sustainable forest management to enhance livelihood of rural people, to meet the forest products basic needs of local people, targeted interventions for poverty alleviation and social mobilisation initiatives and biodiversity conservation climate change mitigation and adaptation. Design/methodology/approach Local organisational elites designed/conceptualised the concept, where it can be operated organisationally and in local organisational context that provides new ways and methods to develop conceptual framework (Table I), which sheds light on involvement of poor and underprivileged members in decision-making process and distribution of benefit on equity basis. Findings The findings will lead to a positive change through the organisational elite model through both reorganising organisations and restructuring of power with change in the society and reduce the impact of rational choices, vested interests of elites (leaders of local organisation) and political factors, which are otherwise playing a game or tragedy of commons. Research limitations/implications Because of the limited resources and time, the authors are unable to verify it on the other development line agencies such as drinking water scheme, livestock, health and cooperative. Practical implications It considerably appears that the impacts are very sound to conclude from the review of above models of elites that provide a very clear understanding and useful conceiving lens to formulate how participation occurs in the executive committee of the community forestry user groups (CFUG) and community-based organisations based on three key elements. First are the caste and the caste structure of the community. Second is the wealth status of the individual, and third is power created both from wealth and caste. This should be determined from the local organisational elite model (Table I) about the nature of interactions on the executive of the CFUGs and other vehicles of local community-based development organisations. Social implications Local organisations will provide an opportunity in reality to both elites and non-elites to considerably change, make aware and create a realistic situation to determine the dialectical opportunity to develop relationship, interaction and configuration between elite and non-elite members both outside and inside of the local organisations. Originality/value It has not been found in literatures yet such sort of concept developed in development field particularly in the development activities performed by participation of local users. Hence, it is certainly original conceptual framework.

English

Performance measurement has become a central feature to the efficiency and effectiveness of the government of Uganda especially with increasing accusations from the citizens on deficits in service delivery in the economic infrastructure cluster Energy and Mineral development, Information and communication technology, works and transport. While most government agencies receive a substantial portion of budget allocations, this has had an uneven association to better public service delivery. Government is thus challenged to find new and more efficient ways to deliver public goods and services. Moreover, linking budget allocations with efficiency performance is an important step that once carefully subjected to policy analysis can significantly result in better policy decisions. This paper presents empirical findings of the Government Half Annual Performance Report for the performance of the Economic Infrastructure cluster. The objective is to highlight areas where progress has been made against the set targets and actions, and where delays have been occasioned. These findings are useful in guiding different actors including cabinet and line ministries, departments, agencies and local governments in ensuring that agreed targets are met by the end of the financial year and appeals to a wider local and international audience. Key words: Performance measurement, economic infrastructure, self-assessment, Uganda.

Is Central Government Intervention Bad for Local Outcomes? Mixed Messages from Indonesia

Central government line agencies in Indonesia spend a significant amount of their budgets directly in the regions, much of it on functions that have already been decentralised to local governments. Such deconcentrated spending contravenes both international best practices and Indonesian decentralisation legislation. Empirical evidence on the question of actual impact of such spending in Indonesia is mixed. The share of central deconcentrated spending that is co-administered directly with local governments appears to have beneficial service delivery effects; but the portion organised through provinces – without significant input from districts – has a negative impact on service outcomes.

Diagnosis on the Structural Weaknesses Among Selected Madaris in Zamboanga City: Its Implication for Program Development of Madrasah Education in the Region

The paper examines the structural weaknesses among selected madaris in Zamboanga City. The researchers used focused-group discussion and interview session for the qualitative part of the study. For the quantitative part, structured questionnaire were used. The respondents of the study were madaris administrators and were selected on the premise that they represent the collective experiences and challenges that the madaris face in Zamboanga city. The selected madaris have satellite schools and were considered the most influential institutions in the field of madaris education in the region. The number of enrollees among these madaris were also considered in the selection of respondents. The structured questionnaire has three parts. Part I is the profile of the madrasah institution in terms of: government recognition (permits and accreditation), type of madrasah offering (as stipulated DepE Order No. 51, s. 2004), number of asatidz (teachers), salary of teachers, and number of pupils. Part II is the profile of madaris administrators in terms of: age, gednder, civil status, highest educational attainment, languages spoken, and years in teachings. Part III are the challenges encountered by madaris in terms of: nature of the madaris, administration, asatidz and their teaching competencies, facilities, curriculum and linkages.The findings of the study revealed several weaknesses specifically in the madaris' government recognition, linkages, the asatidz allowances/salary, the asatidz and their teaching competencies, the curriculum, the facilities and its administrative financial management.Therefore, this paper is to provide the local government, national line agencies, and other policy planners a foresight on how to assist, support and enhance the madrasah education programs in the region.

HRM Reform in the Indonesian Civil Service: Towards Strategic Fit?

This paper investigates the best fit approach of strategic human resource management (HRM) in the Indonesian civil service and examines factors influencing the prevalence of best fit. Involving 53 senior officials and one focus group discussion from eight Indonesian government agencies through semi structured interviews, the finding indicates that some HRM policies, formulated by the central agencies, are still contradicting and hinder best fit. However, the best fit concept can be seen in the line agencies which have been granted status as ‘reformed agencies’. Factors influencing best fit include knowledge of contemporary HRM and commitment from the line agencies’ leaders.

Evaluating the Budget and Efficiency of the Security, Justice and Governance Cluster in Uganda: An Empirical Analysis

Performance measurement has increasingly become central to the efficiency and effectiveness of any government – developed or developing. The introduction of public sector reforms, which transferred most service delivery obligations to the private sector under the New Public Management (NPM) doctrines, demanded a strong performance measurement framework. Sequel to continual government's role in public service delivery in the last decade coming under attack, a revival interest in the exact role of government in public services delivery has thus become imperative. Evaluating performance of different sectors of government is paramount and provides useful information for effective decision-making. This article presents empirical findings of the Government Half Annual Performance Report for the security, justice and governance cluster. The objective is to highlight areas where progress has been made against the set targets and actions and where delays have been occasioned within the context of Uganda. These findings however are useful in guiding different actors including Cabinet and line Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Local governments in ensuring that agreed targets are met at the end of the Financial Year.

Disaster risk reduction knowledge of local people in Nepal

Nepal is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. A high proportion of the national GDP is lost every year in landslides, floods, and many other forms of disasters. A high number of human casualties and loss of public and private property in Nepal due to natural disasters may be attributed to inadequate public awareness, lack of disaster preparedness, weak governance, lack of coordination among the concerned government agencies, inadequate financial resources, and inadequate technical knowledge for mitigating the natural disasters. In this context, quite a few awareness and training programs for disaster risk reduction (DRR) have already been initiated in Nepal and their impact assessments are also already documented. However, effectiveness of the various implemented DRR programs is not yet evaluated through an independent study. The work presented in this paper explores local people’s knowledge on disaster risk reduction (DRR). Altogether, 124 local people from 18 to 74 years of age from randomly selected 19 districts of Nepal were interviewed focusing on various questions on disaster information, disaster knowledge, disaster readiness, disaster awareness, disaster adaptation, and disaster risk perception. The collected response data were statistically analyzed using histogram and independent sample t-tests to examine the DRR knowledge of people. An independent t-test analysis (Table 1) suggests that there is no statistically significant gender-based difference in disaster knowledge, disaster readiness, disaster awareness, and disaster risk perception of the surveyed people. Disaster adaptation capacity of the local people was evaluated and more than 60 percent of the respondents were determined to adapt state of disaster in the community. Findings of this independent research confirmed that the DRR education initiatives implemented in Nepal are not enough. The questionnaire survey results have pointed out at a few deficiencies in disseminating DRR knowledge in Nepal. We hope these findings will encourage the line agencies working in DRR issues in Nepal to modify their programs targeted for the local communities.

Fisheries resources in five Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Davao Oriental

Fisheries profiling along with other key bioresources and habitats was conducted in 2012 in five marine protected area (MPA) sites of the coastal corridor of Davao Oriental. This was done to generate information that will aid in the resource management efforts of the local government and mandated line agencies. Daily catch monitoring was made for four consecutive months and market information was examined through an enumerator stationed in each site. From the information gathered, it appears that all the monitored sites were predominantly engaged in municipal fishing and in capture fisheries. Both motorized and nonmotorized boats were utilized. Net and hook-and-line gear were largely used. Specific fishing gear was employed to capture specific species. The fish catch was comprised of reef and offshore species but the latter contributes more to the catch. Catch was largely sold fresh and traded locally. Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) during the monitoring months (June — August) for all gear types was low that is less than 1 kg If1 of fishing. Squid, needlefish and round-eyed scad dominated the catch. CPUE is highest in Brgy. San Ignacio, Manay for both hook and line and squid jigger. Gear combination increases the efficiency of fishing effort as can be confirmed from the higher CPUE.

Affordable warmth interventions in North Lancashire: winner of the post award 'best for visual impact' at Public Health England 2013 annual conference.

In 2012, Lancashire County Council launched a programme to improve public health, by reducing hospital admissions, and to decrease excess winter illness/ deaths among vulnerable households at risk of severe cold in Lancaster, Wyre and Fylde. Interventions included providing practical help and information together with preventative and remedial support services.Local needs assessments identified vulnerable groups, and services were commissioned to build their resilience to cold weather. Public health messages were communicated and immediate advice and practical support services were provided to the isolated and vulnerable throughout the winter. The project ensured that more long term sustainable measures are in place to protect those most vulnerable to the cold. As a result strong partnerships have been created for the future with several agencies. These include: District and City Councils; Care and Repair Wyre and Fylde; Home Improvement Agency Lancaster; Citizens Advice Bureaux; Age UK Lancashire; LESS Community Interest Company; North West Ambulance Service; Groundworks and New Progress Housing; Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service; Energy Inform; Food Banks; Help Direct; and Lifeline Pendant Alarms.INTERVENTIONThe programme initially used funds made available for local authorities to bid for through the Department of Health's 2011/12 Warm Homes Healthy People (WHHP) initiative. As funding was announced in December when winter was already upon us, there was little time for planning. There was also no requirement to monitor or evaluate the intervention.Despite this, North Lancashire monitored the interventions provided to support some of the vulnerable members of the community and found evidence of partnership working and benefits to the local population from the interventions delivered with WHHP money. This evidence prompted NHS North Lancashire to further invest approximately £150,000 in projects across the Primary Care Trust (PCT) footprint by securing significant funding for Affordable Warmth. Therefore, for the first time it was possible to plan ahead in 2012/13 prior to the winter months and offer preventative up-stream measures, rather than taking the usual reactive approach. A referral criterion was set identifying Care and Repair and the Home Improvement Agency as the single points of access for front line agencies. Historically, referrals from health staffwere few in number during previous initiatives. On investigation, it was found that front line staffhad limited time to explore what measures were available or where to refer to, so they rarely did so. Providing one contact number for each locality would ensure access to support and give staffconfidence that an assessment would be carried out to determine the level of support needed. For the purpose of the project, the definition of 'vulnerable' used to ensure funding reached those whose health and wellbeing would be most affected by cold, damp living conditions is identified below as:* A person who is receiving services such as:* personal care or nursing or support to live independently in his/her own home; or* social care services;* A person who is affected by the following conditions:* learning or physical disability;* physical or mental illness, chronic or otherwise, including those receiving treatment for cancer and palliative care; or* reduction in physical or mental capacity.* A person with a disability of the type listed below:* dependency upon others in the performance of, or a requirement for assistance in the performance of, basic physical functions; or* severe impairment in the ability to communicate with others; or* A person with an impaired ability to protect him/herself from assault, abuse or neglect.When planning the second phase of the intervention funded by NHS North Lancashire, the Affordable Warmth team was able to build on lessons learnt in the first interventions of 2011/12. …

Awareness of Corruption in the Community and Public Service: a Victorian Study

Corruption hurts the public and undermines government. This study of perceptions of corruption in Victoria shows that the community believes corruption is on the increase, yet this view is not shared by public servants. In general corruption is not on the radar of senior Victorian public servants. There are more perceptions of corruption in line agencies than in central agencies. Behaviours most commonly suspected and observed were hiring family and friends, conflict of interest, abuse of discretion and abuse of information. One‐ third of public servants surveyed thought there were opportunities for bribery, yet only 4% had suspected bribery and less than one per cent had personally observed it. Almost half do not believe they would be protected from victimisation should they report corruption. The data reported here poses challenges in thinking about corruption when devising integrity standards in the public service.